Society

Why Incidents of Rape are Increasing in India?

Incidents of rape of women of almost all ages are increasing and it is an agony to every society throughout the globe. After continued movement towards the gender’s equity and liberty why rape has become so horrible to all of us? What are the lacks? Why women would be the absolute victims of this sexual violence?

The female in Hindu Society symbolizes as a combination of ‘shakti’ (energy/power) and ‘prakriti’ (nature). ‘Sri Ramakrishna Paramhans was deadly against of 'kamini and kanchan' (woman and wealth). He advises His disciples not to be greedy for woman and wealth. These are not the aim of human life. Addictions to these two dismiss the ultimate goal of human life. At the same time, He never hates any woman in the society. He respects woman as 'shakti' (energy) and woman is the cause of every beautiful creation in this world. He ceremonizes His wife- Maa Sarada Devi as deity.  It is for women’s respect in the society. He accepts and recognizes woman like Noti Binodini then society considered them disgraceful and neglected.

In this modern society, males’ attitude towards females does not change. Women are considered as sexual commodity to meet their biological desires. There is a gender conflict of male’s domination and exploitation.

Social Science defines that rape is "an event that occurred without the woman's consent, involved the use of force or threat of force, and involved sexual penetration of the victim's vagina, mouth or rectum." It is ‘an incidental effect of direct selection for male sexual traits.’ ‘More precisely, rape is a byproduct of men's adaptation for pursuit of casual, non-committal, and consensual sex.’ It is clearly a ‘crime of male domination, which has evolved as a form of male reproductive behavior.’

Why men do rape? Men rape ‘when the perceived benefits exceed the perceived costs.’  In every society, sex is being considered as a commodity. Men of varied age groups are ‘bombarded by a culture that sexualizes commodities and commodifies women's sexuality. Companies sell products by selling the sexuality of the women endorsing the product. The product and the sex are purposefully conflated. Sex is also purposefully commodified.’ ‘Global media bound cultural syndrome’ endorses and markets the sex as a commodified good lead to an increased desire for and sense of entitlement to, sex. Most men are taught that sexual desire is like hunger and women are candy bars. Men can and do pay for sex, taking it without consent becomes much less morally reprehensible than other violent crimes.’

‘All rapes are 'motivated by the gender,’  and "gender animus is an underlying factor in almost all rapes.” 

“Rape is the consequence of:

(a) social traditions that reflect male power and dominance, on one hand, and female powerlessness and exploitation, on the other;

(b) socially stratified and unequal gender roles; and

(c) cultural attitudes and assumptions about men, women, and rape." 

It is the cause of systemic political and power imbalances between men and women, ‘rape is largely reconceptualized from a "sex" crime (motivated by sexual desire) to a "violent" crime (motivated by misogyny)’.

It is ‘typically a product not of individual pathology, but of collective cultural determination.  That is, social conditions, such as cultural norms, rules, and prevailing attitudes about sex, mold and structure the behavior of the rapist within the context of the broader social system, fostering rape-prone environments and, in effect, teaching men to rape.  As the feminist and sociologist literature have grown, the psychopathology model of rapists as sick people needing psychiatric treatment has suffered a gradual decline.’

Gender inequality is associated with a higher frequency of rape, at both the individual and the societal level.’ And India is submerged with this gender discrimination.

Therefore, what would be the future of women? Only agitation and movement would be rectified men’s behaviour or law and punishment are enough to save our females from this cruelty. At first, we have to evaluate what gender is. Gender is confused with species because ‘gender as sexuality is never sublimated.’ According to patriarchal culture, gender is basically the human race, human nature, etc. ‘It corresponds to a race of men who refuse, whether consciously or not, the possibility of another gender: the female.’ It denotes that human race/gender is importantly valuable because it reproduces the species.  Therefore, gender is always subservient to kinship. There is need of justice and liberty to two genders(male & female) that differs in their needs, their desires and their properties.

'Without women, there is no society. Women have to proclaim this message loud and clear and demand a justice that fits their identity instead of some temporary rights befitting justice for men.’ ‘Sexual difference represents one of the great hopes for the future.’ It is not to be found in reproduction but in access the two sexes have to culture.

 

10-Apr-2021

More by :  Dr. Harasankar Adhikari

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